Egypt 80 band is more successful now than when it was under my father —Seun Kuti

Seun Kuti has continued to promote the struggle of awakening the revolution in thecommon man on the continent through his consistent ability to churn out politically and socially charged songs. Under him, the Egypt 80 band which he inherited from his late father has also developed into an entity saddled with the responsibility of midwifing the Afrobeat evolution. The youngest son of the Afrobeat pioneer, Fela, who has succeeded in re-energizing the Afrobeat genre, spoke with AHMED BOULOR about a range of issues bordering on his career, his family and the state of the nation in this interview. Excerpts:

WHAT’S your take about the federal government’s intention to have your grandmother’s face on the proposed new Nigerian currency?

I think my stand on that issue is very clear; for me it is a forgone issue but I don’t think the federal government has any right to do that without consulting with the Kuti family, especially when her case is so peculiar knowing very well that she was murdered by agents of the federal government of Nigeria. They tend to want to forget that aspect and up till now the Kuti family has not received any apology, compensation and most especially justice for her death. The family has not been given any clue and no one has been held responsible for her death. She was such a great woman not just because she was Fela’s mother; she was the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria. My grandmother was the first African woman to visit China; she was a close confidant of Chairman Mao of China and she also fought for the right of females to vote in Nigeria. She was an icon for a lot of women and she also started the women advocacy rights here in Nigeria and for them to murder such a woman and not give any explanation or serve any justice and in turn want to paste her face on any currency is really rude. It shows that our present day government has no feeling for humanity or for people; they are power drunk.

Just like your father, you have also failed to acknowledge the existence of God. What then do you believe in?

My father believes in God oh! He is a traditionalist; Fela believed in African gods. I don’t believe in anyone at all; be it African or European. Basically I don’t believe in religion; I believe religion has caused more harm than good to humanity and it doesn’t really say anything. Religion is sometimes ambiguous and to me it is a divisive tool to humanity though I practiced religion when I was younger, but ever since I clocked 20 religion didn’t appeal to me any longer. It also largely has to do with the fact that I grew up with an uncle who is an atheist as well. There are books you can read even by Christians that reveal the other side of the coin; most people don’t understand the history of what they practice.

But you do believe in nature?

Nature is that thing that controls humanity and the environment; it is important to believe in nature and its sciences. I mean with things we can prove and things we can understand. I feel the world is complicated, beautiful and complex enough in its own right to bamboozle and awe us as long as we live. But the supernatural aspect of nature is what I don’t understand.

Has your position on marriage changed?

It hasn’t changed at all…

What was your last tour of the UK like?

It was fantastic! My first album did pretty well in the UK and the second one got me a whole lot of followers in the UK because of Brian Eno’s input. We have been booked to perform in the UK three times and the usual Afrobeat gig in the UK is a multi-ethnic gathering. I like it when I play in London because it is an integrated society; it is a place where you perform and get a variety of people from different backgrounds. I have my largest Nigerian fan base in the UK and when I have my shows in the Europe the tickets are usually sold out because people over there are very efficient with buying tickets.

You’ll be a year older soon; January 11 to be precise. What plans do you have in the pipeline to celebrate?

I don’t know yet but my godfather is going to throw me a party; I am going to be 30 and I have told him he is going to take care of stuff on my birthday. I don’t know the plans he has for the party but I am sure it is going to be something nice.

Let’s talk about the tattoo you have on your back which is an image of your late father…

I’ve had it for 10 years and when I had it, not too many people had tattoos in Nigeria. I had my tattoo when it was a taboo to have tattoos in this part of the world.

Does Fela still live in you?

Fela lives in the minds of Africans; and this is why I actually don’t believe in religion, because what it promises is not enough. It promises people that they will go to heaven and people in turn fight to get there; I wonder what kind of happiness one will have when he struggles to go to heaven only to find out that other people they love like their mother, father, brother or any close relative does not make it to heaven? Everybody in Nigeria is struggling to go to heaven and if they read their Bibles very well it is stated that only 144,000 people will make it to heaven. It is even stated that it is only the Jews that will make it to heaven; so I don’t know what the fuss is all about when it comes to religion.

Fela’s existence is in the memory he left behind; it is in his achievements and he impacted so much in the lives of many. That is what people should live their lives for but people rather live their lives fighting for God. It is written that God is all powerful and I wonder why people should pick up the battle axe and start fighting God’s battle. People need to live their lives in real goodness and ensure that they positively impact on the lives of other people. It should be about inspiring people to live better and that is the only way you can achieve immortality and that is what Fela has done. When you are around Fela, you are allowed to express yourself because Fela believed in true individuality. He might not necessarily accept your idea, but he respected the fact that you are human and you have the right to have your say. Fela lives in the minds of scores of many because he dedicated his life to the freedom of the African continent.

Is your sister still part of your band?

Not anymore! She quit when it was hard for her to balance music and her, but now she apparently is going to be the MD of the Kalakuta Museum.

What was going through your mind at age 9 when you walked up to your father telling him you wanted to sing for him?

I was actually 8 years old then; I was naïve then anyway. I grew up loving music at the Kalakuta Republic. I walked up to my dad then telling him about my desire to sing for him because I thought it was an easy job. I was always going on tour with my father and after he played at the Apollo, I thought to myself that music was all about having fun and getting paid for it. So I thought to myself that I wanted to sing; so I walked up to my dad and told him I wanted to sing. He asked me if I could sing and I answered in the affirmative; he asked me to sing a song and I did the ‘Sorrow, Tears and Blood’. He told me I could sing a bit and I had to just do a little bit of homework. He later told me to start rehearsing with the band and that was how it all started. Later, he requested that I opened the shows for him and the rest like they say is history.

How hard is it being an Afrobeat artiste?

It’s not so hard being an Afrobeat artiste in Nigeria because some people do not understand what Afrobeat is all about. They know Fela but they have forgotten the concept behind the genre. For most people, especially some Nigerian artistes, when they wear tight-fitting trousers and tap their feet on the floor everybody will say that person is an Afrobeat musician. Even present day pop artistes in Nigeria refer to themselves as Afrobeat musicians. But to an extent, being an Afrobeat artiste can be hard because it is anti-establishment and everything you do has to be established. There is no private sector participation in promoting Afrobeat music because people feel it is too critical of government and they don’t want to have anything to do with it. They’d rather spend money sponsoring hip hop events and concerts. It is time when artistes in Africa began to speak the truth about our people and it will be a dark day in Africa if we become free and music does not play a role in that freedom. It will be a shame on our profession because music has been in the forefront of revolutionary changes. That is what we lack in Nigeria because the elite are not on the side of the people.

What’s the toughest part of following your father’s political and social ethos?

I feel everyone should know and understand the advantages and disadvantages in whatever you venture into. Afrobeat is not Nigerian anymore, when I say that sometimes people try to criticise me as well. Afrobeat is now global; there are more Afrobeat bands in New York than the whole of Nigeria put together. People see the beauty and the relevance of my songs and they appreciate it just like the way they appreciated Fela’s music. Sometimes it is just prejudice because everyone has a preconception of who they think you are.

How well is your sophomore album ‘Rise’ faring locally and internationally?

I cannot determine the success locally because marketers have been stealing my money. They steal money too much in this country and I am tired of doing business here in Nigeria. I don’t like it when I feel cheated; as soon as we sold the initial batch we stopped production of the CD’s because the songs are going to be downloaded anyway and CD’s are becoming redundant. My music is on iTunes just in case anyone wants to buy it; internationally it’s getting the needed boost in terms of patronage and followership as much as expected.

Do you think Brian Eno‘s and John Reynolds’ input on the album is creating the right impact?

Of course it is; like I said, their impact more than doubled my market in the UK. I didn’t work with Brian Eno expecting an outcome of any sort because I know the quality that he brings to the table. I worked with him because I respect him as a producer and not because of the commercial and critical impact his input may have on the album. The album is revolutionary and it is a classic album; internationally ‘Rise’ is huge and we’ve toured the world twice already and my record company is now on my neck for a second album. They also want me to sign a new deal…

How would you describe the evolution of the Egypt 80 band in the over 12 years that you have been in charge?

I have been in charge for more than 12 years and time is the greatest enemy for anyone and for musicians especially. I believe the first evolution is first with the personnel; the Egypt 80 band is more successful now than when it was under my father.

How do you mean?

I am not saying that I am a better band leader than my father; Fela was more social than I am and he used to take money from the band to feed thousands of people. But whatever the band gets now is spent on the band itself. So everyone has a better salary and allowance than it was under my father because my father believed in being social. He spent his money on people and also spent to run the Kalakuta Republic. But I do not have any republic to run.

If your father were still alive, what kind of man would you have evolved into?

I would have evolved into an old man who thinks he is younger than everybody.

How tasking is it to churn out politically and socially charged songs?

Like I said earlier, Afrobeat is global and my lyrics are no longer about Africa because the whole world is connected. The austerity measures we had to go through in the past have now reared its head in countries in Europe like Greece and Italy. People cannot stand it and what we are going through in Africa is not peculiar to Africa alone. It might be a bigger degree as compared to the West but they are also feeling the pinch. In the West, they tax rich people for the amount of wealth they have and back here in Africa we try to give rich people more freedom with their finances. The drive for Africa should empower the people.

How’s work progressing with your third album?

It’s in the making and there’s not much I can say about it because it is not finished yet. We are fine tuning things now and recording will begin in February.

Having waxed two albums, have you received any royalties for your works locally and internationally?

I have not received any royalty here in Nigeria; but I am registered to SASEM in France and I have gotten huge royalties for my works.

You once went Bungee Jumping and you also gave a hint sometime ago that you were thinking about Sky Diving. Have you attempted it yet?

I have not had time for a holiday yet but as soon as I get some time off I will attempt it. I love extreme sports…

Its a pity u are already destroyed, so why don’t u explain d supernatural den if u believe in d nature, God is a spirit… Seun let me correct u about d 144,000 sealed ppl frm d tribes of israel, revelation7vs1-8 then read the verse 9 john d beloved now said He saw a great multitude of ppl that no one could count frm different nations, tribe,language standing bfor d throne and infront of the Lamb they were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands…. Shame on u seun kuti its beta u study well…. U jus go waste money doing rubbish instead of u to know God…. If u don’t believe in religion but u believe in traditions? God forgive u cos dis is truly a sign of destruction in ur own part and ur children may suffer it…